Making a change before middle age

Hello all, I'm totally new to this sort of thing. I'm a big dude. Well, a really big dude and I always have been. It's something I have always been aware of yet have never known what it it takes to reach a healthy weight. My attempts at losing weight have always been met with great enthusiasm. However, they've always been short-lived due to lack of visible progress and my interpretation of such as failure. However, on my 29th birthday I had a bit of a revelation. I'm going to hit middle age and never know what it's like to experience the athletic aspirations of my youth. I have always dreamed of hiking for miles at a time, smelling the aroma of morning dew during a jog at sunrise, and even feeling comfortable enough in my skin to work out without feeling self-conscious. These are things I hope to achieve here, but I need to realize my past failings first. This time I am going to stick at it, no matter what. If I don't see results, that's cool. I'll just keep it up. What's the worst that can happen? I know this is going to take time and I am all for it. I believe that my two greatest problems are poor habits and lack of knowledge of nutrition. My first goals are to use myfitnesspal to develop good eating habits (vague I know, but mainly portion control to begin with), and study the foods that I normally ingest. I have been doing this simultaneously the past few days and it feels like I am on the right track. So far, I use myfitnesspal to log everything and have already been surprised at seeing the nutritional content in some of the foods I have been putting in my diary. I have not exceeded my daily calorie limit but have already noticed an excess in cholesterol and sodium. I believe that as time goes on I will have a better understanding of what foods to avoid and develop the healthy habits necessary to make this happen. I look forward to reaching my goals and I know that some day I will be living the life I have always dreamed of. Thanks for reading.